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Not Applicable
This invention relates generally to lifts for personal mobility vehicles and more particularly to a powered personal mobility vehicle lift connectable to the floor of a vehicle such as a utility van for loading and offloading the personal mobility vehicle through the back or side door opening of the vehicle.
The popularity of personal mobility vehicles such as powered wheelchairs and powered scooters, collectively referred to herein as personal mobility vehicles is rapidly increasing. Those physically challenged who were once relegated to indoor use of an unpowered wheelchair are now much more mobile in such three and four wheeled motorized personal mobility vehicles. However, there has been another barrier in utilizing conventional cars and vans with respect to the loading and offloading of these relatively heavier and more complex powered personal mobility vehicles. One answer has come in the form of custom xe2x80x9cminivanxe2x80x9d conversions wherein a power ramp is installed into the center portion of the van which, when lowered and deployed, allows the personal mobility vehicle to be driven into the van after which the ramp is powered into a closed, upright, stored position.
The financial drawback to such van conversions is substantial as the entire floor structure must be completely revamped, lowered and reinforced in order to have sufficient headroom within the vehicle.
Those who use powered personal mobility vehicles and who are able to ambulate short distances or are accompanied by a physically able companion, now have a selection of lift mechanism options which are connected to the floor of the vehicle. These options permit the loading and offloading of the personal mobility vehicle to and from a lift platform which is power controlled. The lift platform is moveable into and from the van between a position within the vehicle atop or in proximity to the floor thereof to a position rearwardly of the vehicle wherein the platform is lowered to near ground level so that the personal mobility vehicle may then be driven or rolled therefrom.
The following patents generally describe inventions known to applicant which accomplish this task in various ways:
Saucier, et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,944,473
McCullough U.S. Pat. No. 4,984,955
Pearson U.S. Pat. No. 4,140,230
Goodrich U.S. Pat. No. 5,261,779
Ringdahl et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,672,041
Budd et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,806,632
Farsai U.S. Pat. No. 5,564,884
Ringdahl et al. U.S. Pat. No. 6,357,992
Savaria U.S. Pat. No. 6,086,314
Kameda U.S. Pat. No. 6,379,102
Stoen et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,401,135
Fretwell et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,556,250
Dorn U.S. Pat. No. 5,674,043
A pending patent application published on Oct. 4, 2001, publication number U.S. 2001/0026756 invented by Mortimore also teaches a lift for a motorized vehicle which generally also accomplishes this function, but which utilizes a parallelogram type lifting arm arrangement requiring substantially more space within the interior of the vehicle itself when the device is in a stored position.
The present invention provides a lift for a personal mobility vehicle which utilizes only linear sliding or roller supported motion of its various components, to horizontally retract and extend the platform which supports the personal mobility vehicle. A very compact upright telescoping lift mechanism used to raise and lower the platform provides space saving and reduces the distance required behind the vehicle for accessibility to loading and offloading the personal mobility vehicle thereform.
This invention is directed to a personal mobility vehicle lift for use in conjunction with a vehicle having a rear or side door opening and a floor. The personal mobility vehicle lift includes a generally horizontal platform structured to support a powered personal mobility vehicle driven or rolled thereatop. An upright preferably telescoping powered lift mechanism is connected to the platform for raising and lowering the platform when positioned rearwardly behind the vehicle in a linear motion from a lower position in proximity to the ground to an upper position in proximity to the level of the floor. An elongated stationary frame member is structured for connection atop and oriented lengthwise or fore and aft to the floor of the vehicle. An elongated moveable frame member is slidably or rollably connected to the stationary frame member for lengthwise rearward movement therebetween. Said moveable frame member is connected to the lift member for limited additional rolling or sliding movement lengthwise therebetween. A drive mechanism is operably interconnected between the stationary and moveable members and the lift member for controlling relative linear fore and aft movement therebetween whereby, when the platform is in the upper position, the platform is controlledly moveable linearly from its rearward position beyond the floor and the rear of the vehicle through the door opening to a forward position above or atop the floor and within the vehicle.
It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a power lift mechanism for personal mobility vehicles utilizing compact and economically efficient components which telescope to effect the vertical lifting and for and aft or horizontal movement of the platform required to load and offload the personal mobility vehicle onto and from the platform.
Still another object of this invention is to provide a lift mechanism for personal mobility vehicles which, through the use of telescoping horizontal and vertical translation of the various components, adds compactness to the invention when stored within the vehicle.